Attorneys in the murder trial of George Ruibal are set to make their closing arguments Thursday as both sides wrapped up testimony Wednesday with the defense presenting an alternate suspect to the jury.

Ruibal, 58, is accused of beating and strangling his girlfriend, Dana Pechin, in 2007 and then staying with her in the Longmont apartment they shared as she died from her injuries.

He was arrested and charged in April 2011 after a Boulder County grand jury reviewed the case and handed down a five-page indictment. Prosecutors took the case to the grand jury after a statewide cold-case task force and an outside police agency reviewed the Longmont Police Department's investigation.

But Wednesday, Ruibal's attorney, Eric Klein, presented jurors with another suspect, a man named Joel Dorn, who defense investigators say could be responsible. Dorn -- who has not cooperated with the defense's investigators and was mentioned during opening statements -- was arrested twice for domestic violence incidents in which the beatings were similar to those sustained by Pechin.

Ruibal's attorneys always have maintained that Pechin sustained her injuries outside the apartment at the hands of a stranger before coming back home.

The victim in one of Dorn's cases alleged that Dorn strangled her almost to the point of unconsciousness and then submerged her in a sink.

Prosecutors had wrapped up their presentation earlier in the day after showing a video interview in which Ruibal claimed he did not realize Pechin's injuries were that serious.

The jury was excused Wednesday just before 4 p.m.

Attorneys for both sides are scheduled to make their closing arguments this morning.

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